David Lehmannhttp://www.wfuv.org/taxonomy/term/7593/0
enNYC Smokers Snuffed for 10 Yearshttp://www.wfuv.org/news/news-politics/130327/nyc-smokers-snuffed-10-years
<div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-article-photo">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<a href="/news/news-politics/130327/nyc-smokers-snuffed-10-years" class="imagecache imagecache-feed_image imagecache-linked imagecache-feed_image_linked"><img src="http://www.wfuv.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/feed_image/news/photos/No%20Smoking.jpg" alt="No Smoking Sign" title="" width="640" height="360" class="imagecache imagecache-feed_image"/></a> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-article-subheadline">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
City Marks Smoke-Free Air Act's 10th Anniversary </div>
</div>
</div>
<p>&quot;Smoking or Non-smoking?&quot;&nbsp;</p>
<p>It&#39;s been 10 years since New York City restaurants have asked that question. Today marked the 10th anniversary of the Smoke-Free Air Act, which outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants. <!--break--></p>
<p>It was one of the nation&#39;s earliest and toughest smoking bans. Mayor Bloomberg and City officials appeared at a Manhattan bar today to celebrate what they called &quot;a model for the rest of the world.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
<p>But Audrey Silk with Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment disagreed.<br />
<br />
&quot;He wants us to celebrate being a prisoner of his commands.&nbsp; And, I&#39;m sorry, that is not something to celebrate.&quot;<br />
<br />
Silk said the mayor does not have the right to intrude on New Yorkers&#39; freedoms.<br />
<br />
The City says the past ten years have seen record low smoking rates and that the law has saved thousands of lives.<br />
<br />
David Lehmann, borough manager for the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership said the law is an issue of workplace safety. &quot;Bars and restaurants are certainly workplaces as well.&nbsp; People were working there 6, 8, 10-hour shifts and being exposed to tobacco smoke, which is a class-A carcinogen.&quot;<br />
<br />
Lehmann also said the law has really set a trend for big cities around the world.&nbsp; He relates a story from protests during the law&#39;s passage in 2003:<br />
<br />
&quot;People actually flew over from Paris and said that they would not continue to come as tourists to New York City if they passed this bill.&nbsp; And of course, Paris now has smoke-free restaurants and bars too!&quot;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
New York City has expanded its non-smoking laws since the initial 2003 act.&nbsp; Smoking is now also banned in public parks, beaches, and pedestrian plaza, as well as in and around health care facilities.</p>
News & PoliticsAudrey SilkBronx Smoke-Free PartnershipCitizens Lobbying Against Smoker HarassmentCLASHDavid LehmannNew York City Mayor Michael BloombergNYC MayorSmoke-Free New York Citysmokerssmoking banWed, 27 Mar 2013 21:36:34 +0000Jeff Coltin39998 at http://www.wfuv.org